“The universe is based on balance and baseball is no different.” – Shaun Larkin
Shaun was born and raised in Southern California. His journey through the game like a lot of others before him was met with tough decisions and unplanned consequences. He was fortunate enough to play seven years professionally after being part of one of the best college seasons in Cal State Northridge history. His passion for the game and desire to stay a part of it for life ignited his coaching career and eventually landed him a position that was created by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015. He is now the first-ever Coordinator of Skill Development for the Dodgers and plays a massive role in working with a team of coaches and trainers to flip the standard practice of baseball on its head. His background in the game, paired with his Masters Degree in Performance Psychology, has armed him with the tools necessary to challenge the norm and revolutionize the sport on how to practice and perfect it. After spending time in Arizona, Larkin and his wife Denise who happens to be a Board Certified Behavior Analyst currently reside in McKinney, Texas with their two children Cason(3) and Corrie(1). Get ready to be schooled in some out of the box thinking and hear what one of the top young minds in the game is thinking and why. Enjoy!
You can connect with Shaun here:
Shaun shares with us in this episode:
-
How to put yourself in the right environment to get what you want in your career.
-
Designing a better game-like practice.
-
Understanding your players first before you can teach them anything.
- How the game is changing in all areas from scouting to development.
-
And many more things baseball and non-baseball related.
How we met:
The beauty of being a part of this specialized field of work is the number of great people I get to meet through other great people. It really is a small fraternity of men and women that feed off of each other’s triumphs and failures. We all understand that one introduction could change your path dramatically. My good friend Pete Caliendo (Ep.#8) suggested I meet Shaun and have him on the podcast after he interviewed him for his podcast. After listing to that episode, I immediately reached out o Shaun. Being a lifelong Dodger fan, I had to hear from this guy and find out more about his journey and how he was able to land such a cool job. After talking to Shaun for 10 mins, we immediately connected the dots and as always shared a list of friends and acquaintances through the game. If you have been following this podcast, you will note that many of my guests are from the So Cal area. Partly because I lived and worked there for so many years but also partly because it is one of the hottest baseball beds on the planet. Shaun is a highly intelligent baseball mind and a totally down to earth Cali boy at the same time. He has a very upbeat personality, a ton of energy and an infectious smile that you can see through the phone. I am so glad I had the pleasure of getting to know him and I look forward to the day we meet in person.
Enjoy!
Love the Game. Live the Dream